Delicious beet-infused nutrition bars

We use beet powder made from organic, cold temperature processed, nutrient-dense beets.

Q: What's in a Beet Strong bar? Did you say beet?

A: Yep. Our bars are made with freeze-dried beet powder from fresh beets. Our bars are high in protein, high in fiber and made with with real ingredients like nuts, fruits, fair trade ground coffee, and fair trade 100% dark chocolate. Each bar has about 10g of beet powder, which is the equivalent of one small to medium size beet and provides at least 200mg of plant-based nitrate. They're naturally gluten free, grain free, non-GMO and our packaging is 100% compostable. Best of all, they taste delicious. Can't beet that!

Q: Why put beets in a nutrition bar?

A: Beet Strong is the culmination of many ideas and projects we have had over the years! We are intrigued by business and we try to eat a mostly whole foods based diet. As health conscientious consumers we’ve had many “someone should make this” conversations because it is hard to find healthful, yet convenient foods. Finally in the summer of 2015 we started experimenting with making a bar that contained with all real ingredients and beet powder, which has been a hot topic in the scientific research the past few years [1-9]. While we recommend whole foods first, Beet Strong bars are a great alternative. They contain real beets, provide great nutrition, are super convenient, and taste great!

Q: I've heard of nitrates before. Don't they cause cancer?

A: Nope. Synthetic nitrite salts (sodium nitrite) are added to processed and cured meats as a preservative. Present in large quantities in these foods, sodium nitrite can can be converted into nitrosamines in the stomach, which may be linked to cancer. However , this is very unlikely in diets that contain adequate vitamin C (see here) and nearly all Americans get enough Vitamin C. Nitrite salts are not nitrates, which are naturally occurring compounds in soil, plants and the human body and are linked to improving cardiovascular health. Read this article from Prevention for a lay-friendly summary.

Q: What do nitrates do?

A: High in a compound called nitrate, beet juice has been found to improve blood pressure and measures of artery health in several studies.[2, 10-13] In addition, the nitrate in beet juice has been shown to improve exercise performance [5]. Not all studies show a benefit of beet juice,[14] but for the most part the findings have been favorable.

Q: What are the benefits of fiber?

Foods rich in fiber have been shown to be linked to satiety or the feeling of fullness [15, 16] and recently isolated fiber supplements (including the fiber in our bar) have also shown to increase satiety [17, 18]. Eating foods high in satiety is important because if a given food/food item leaves a person feeling full and satisfied they are less likely to overeat at that given meal and in subsequent meals. Another way to think of this is: Let's say Food A and Food B both are 300 calories. Food A leaves you satisfied so you don’t eat for a few hours. In contrast Food B is not highly satiating so you are hungry again in an hour, have a snack and then eat another meal a few hours later. In the Food B condition the person is much more likely to have overeaten that day and eating more than your body needs leads to weight gain over time.

Diets high in fiber have also been linked to decreased risk of cardiovascular disease in older populations [19-21] and cardiovascular disease risk factors in younger populations [22, 23]. Recent studies suggests that at least part of the beneficial effects may attributed to fiber’s ability to alter the gut microbiome [24-26]. The best sources of fiber tend to be plant based and the vast majority of Americans do not eat enough [27].

Q: What is so good about the protein?

There is much confusion around protein because high intake is not recommended for certain populations [28]. However higher intake is safe for individuals without kidney disorders and even beneficial for some populations, particularly people who exercise or are athletes. It is recommended by the Institute of Medicine that protein comprise 10 to 35% of the diet’s calories [29]. Higher protein meals are linked to higher satiety [30]. In fact protein is widely considered the most satiating macronutrient. This means when matched for calories, protein will leave you feeling fuller than carbs or fat, meaning you can control appetite better [31]. Athletes, physically active people, and those who are trying to lose weight tend to need more protein to support their increased level of activity, build more muscle or maintain their muscle during weight loss [29, 31-34].

Yep, so basically Beet Strong bars are great! They taste great and they're great for you!